Peoples is Peoples 2

Once upon a time, Sister McKay actually found time to send pictures!

Language

Eterna-gator. An investigator who doesn't want to get baptized but does want to keep investigating. For example, we teach a 69-year-old lady named Mildred who says she believes in God but isn't going to change religions unless she believes God is directly leading her to do so.

Which He is.

Through us.

Oh, well. She loves us and wants to learn more, but we'll have to stop going to see her because she's become an eterna-gator. Sadness.

White-washed. When two new missionaries are sent to an area. Most of the time, it's staggered so that missionaries don't have to start all over. One missionary will already be in an area, and another missionary will get transferred to be with them, learn about the area while they're together, and then be the one to stay when another missionary gets transferred to the area in place of their first companion. No one particularly wants to be white-washed to an area. But it could happen! And transfer calls are this weekend, so we'll see if it does.

Wait.

Transfer calls?

*distant screaming*

Have I already been here almost a whole transfer?!

People

This week, Terra, the girl who was baptized on the 18th, got pretty sick. She was throwing up an such. So the elders gave her a blessing. We weren't there, but she did get better after a few days! She didn't come to church on Sunday, and we're not sure why, but we have plans to go see her this week, so we'll see if we can figure that out.

Two Tuesdays ago was District Meeting, in which we set a goal to contact 10 people every day. Since we were already halfway through the day by the time District Meeting was over, I asked everybody if we were going to go with only 5 contacts that day. They said, "Whaaaat! Sister McKay, you gotta have some faith!"

Whoops.

So, we had faith. And Sister Hale and I got 15 contacts that day.

I may or may not have had to repent.

Tiffany came out of those 15 contacts! She is the sweetest lady! She's in her 20s, and she let us in right away. She had seen the Restoration video and really liked it and related to it (whoo!!), and she told us we could stop by. We taught the Restoration and asked her to be baptized in the first lesson! And she said she wants to be baptized!

But... she wants to be baptized... with her child.

Um. Heuston, we have a problem. (Yes, I spelled "Heuston" right. Ask Indigo.)

So, she's not married, nor does she have any children. I quickly explained that they would have to be 8 to be baptized, thinking that she would say, "Oh, okay. Well, then, sure!"

Instead, we got, "Well, we can wait, right?"

Ummm... For your salvation?! N-not really!

Hm.

So, we'll be working on that.

Macon Miracle

Because I'm being trained, we had to drive 300 miles round-trip to Macon for a training a couple Saturdays ago. We have 1200 miles a month. And we have a lot of driving to do because we cover an area with really spread-out houses.

We asked a member if she would be able to take us out to Wagener, a tiny town that's kinda out in the country. She said yes! And we got a new investigator out of it!

That was our #MaconMiracle of the week.

I want y'all to remember that Christ is the source of all the joy we feel. And never forget it.

Sister McKay

Peoples Is Peoples

"The Lord had a perfect church... until He let all of us inside."

-President Eyring's dad.

Day in the Life

I've discovered that there are two important measurements by which missionaries live: Transfers and miles.

Transfers are every six weeks. We do certain things once or twice a transfer. For example, we are required to clean the car at least twice a transfer; Zone Conference is once a transfer. And miles are basically what determine how we go about each day. We had to drive to Macon this week for a training (because I'm new), and that carved out a quarter of our miles for the month. It was a little painful because that means we'll have to do a lot of walking, and that's not as efficient as driving. Oh, well. #positivity!

I've started referring to myself as "Sister McKay" when I talk to myself. It is so weird. I've almost forgotten that my name is Amory on more than one occasion.

Language

Birth. When I came out into the mission field, I was born. My trainer, Sister Hale, gave birth to me. She is my... (cue next definition)

Mission mom (parent). Your trainer.

Death. When your companion is sent home, they die, and you kill them off.

Lock your heart. *thud* This is a phrase used by some missionaries in reference to a talk given to a group of missionaries some time ago. If anyone in our district mentions something about someone of the opposite gender, the missionaries around them say, "Lock your heeeeaaaart!!" in a high-pitched voice. It's gotten a bit annoying. But it's still funny. The "thud" comes after. You use your fist to stab your heart, then turn your fist like you're turning a key. It's actually pretty great. I love it!

People!

So, I only have a couple minutes. But Terra was baptized! Sister Hale and I couldn't be there because we had to go to the training in Macon, but we were there when she was confirmed! It was awesome! It was cool to have a baptism already in my first month. Terra is awesome. She turned 16 the day she was confirmed, and she gave up coffee and tea! It was so cool! She told us that she actually spit out some tea she accidentally drank last week! It was pretty great.

Alright, I wish I had more time, but know that I miss all y'all!

THE GOSPEL IS TRUE!

Sister McKay

In which, Sister McKay is kissed. Wait, what?

Exchanges and blisters:

So, I went on exchanges with Sister Bradshaw this Wednesday and Thursday. She's one of the Sister Training Leaders. I was in North Augusta, SC. It was fun! We visited some less actives, and we knocked a lot of doors. Let's see...

Oh! Good news! I got my first mission blisters!

WHOO!

Because of the limited miles we have per month (1200), and the fact that we have to drive to Macon this week for training (which is 300 miles away), we've decided to have a car fast every week. That means we walk everywhere. We don't use the car for anything whatsoever.

That also means we get blisters. And we knock. A lot.

But you should have seen Sister Hale's face when I realized I was getting blisters and was all excited!

Also, first door slammed in my face this week. That was monumental. It went something like this:

Sister Hale and Sister McKay walk up to a house and ring the doorbell.

A man answers the door.

Sisters Hale and McKay: Hiii!!

The man slams the door.

We walk away.

Sister McKay later realizes how sad this is, but at the moment is just gleeful because she isn't phased and is willing to continue working with a (perhaps overly) positive attitude.

In which the kiss is explained:

Soooo, all y'all are probably wondering why on earth I said I was kissed.

Well, truth is, I was.

By an old lady.

Probably one of the friendliest old ladies I'll ever meet.

As evidenced by the title.

On exchanges, we went to her house. She was apparently kind of high because she had just gotten back from the hospital where she'd gotten two shots for a strange bug bite she found that made her face turn red.

0_o

Anyway. She fed us girl scout cookies and milk, showed us her backyard (which was absolutely gorgeous!), and sat and talked with us about, um, working in the OR (operating room). Interesting stories were told.

As we were leaving, we prayed with her and her son in their garage (through the smell of cigarette smoke). Then she gave us each a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

It was fun!

I love missionary work.

Terra:

Terra is 15 and is totally golden! I think I mentioned her in my post last week. I came into the picture about two lessons in, but the story is as follows.

Terra has a few Mormon friends.

They brought her to church and seminary.

She said she wanted to be baptized.

They said they'd better call the missionaries.

The missionaries met with her and taught her 1.5 lessons.

She prayed about baptism.

The third time she met with missionaries was when I came, and she said, "I prayed about march 18th, and I want to get baptized. I talked to my mom. We're good to go."

Missionary: *tries not to explode from happiness*

So, in the past two weeks, we've taught her all the lessons, planned her baptism, and watched her progress exponentially. It's so amazing! She gave up coffee and tea in an instant and hasn't (purposely) had any since our Word of Wisdom lesson. She's basically set for everything else. And when we came for our fifth lesson with her, she and her member friend had already sat down and planned literally the whole program for the baptism. Sooooo... Yeah.

The only problem is that Sister Hale and I can't go because we have a training meeting in Macon that day and her baptism has to be at 11:30. Sadness. But the cool thing is that she's going forward with it anyway!

In which Sister McKay realizes she refers to herself as Sister McKay:

That was just plain weird. I was going to say, "In which Sister McKay says goodbye," but it came out like that instead.

Alright, well. I love all y'all!! And I miss you!

The work is hard, but here's one of the quotes that has kinda become part of my personal motto:

"The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."

-Majorie Pay Hinckley

Sister McKay

"Hi, my name is Sister McKay, and I'm addicted to the Spirit."

There was an elder in my zone at the MTC who introduced himself like that, and I liked it, so I adopted it. Kinda.

Fun Facts of the Week

Macon, GA, holds the world record for most denominations per square mile. Yes, that's right. The world record. The cool thing is that most of those denominations have a focus on Christ, and literally everyone out here knows who Christ is, whether they believe in Him or not. Makes my job just that much eaiser.

Gas is, like, so much cheaper in Aiken than back home. It's also crazy out here because neighborhoods are so different! On one street, there could be super nice houses, and on the next street, it could be trailers, and on the next street, it's ghetto. And no, I'm not using that word incorrectly. But it's so cool to see how the people live. It's really made me think. There's one little apartment complex that's made out of old stables, and some people out here don't have cars, but they pay for phones and rent. One person we teach, named Theo, hasn't had electricity for a while. But hey, he's come to church a couple times!

Language Practice

Apos. Short for "apostate." Pronounced "AY-poss." If something is apos, it's against mission rules. For example:

Sister McKay(siniging): "You don't have to try, try, try, try-y-yyy!" (popular pop song)

Sister Hale: "That is SO apos!!"

Sister McKay: "AAAHHH I'm sorry!!"

Tool. A word Sister Hale uses to describe people who are annoying or rude or who tease her. For example:

Elder Billman (he's in my district): "Sister Hale, your skirt looks like basketball shorts." (It kind of does, I won't lie. But it's a running joke.)

Sister Hale: "You're a tool."

Chitlins. A dish made in the south. It's pig intestines, basically. I haven't had any yet. Sister Hale said she's only had it once. 0.0

People!

We visit one family from Honduras, the Martinezes. They're less active, but we go visit them. They are so awesome! What little I've learned of Spanish is paying off, and I've learned a few things from them! Here's my favorite one:

"Nuestros Padre Celestial, gracias por la comida."

And then there's this one: "Gracias por dejarnos entrad en su casa."

Whoo! They told me I have a pretty good accent and that I'm good at rolling my R's. Haha!

We have someone on date! Her name is Terra and she's 15. She's been coming to church, and Sister Hale and her last comp taught her the Restoration and part of the Plan of Salvation. She's given up tea and coffee, and she's on date for the 18th! I am so excited!!

I've never smelled so much smoke in my life. It's crazy. We visit an old lady named Mildred who's a chain smoker. The elders always look at us weird when we come back from her house. It's great.

Joy

Psalms 16:11 says, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

There are so many reasons to have joy! I'm talking to people about the gospel all day every day. Like, what?! I'm going to miss that when I come home.

I just got called weird by one of the elders.

I said, "Thanks!"

He said, "Well, you're not as cool as you think you are."

"Thanks!"

"I can't insult her! She's too happy!"

I love life. Here's something I wrote in personal study this morning.

I don't want people to go through life without joy.

Without joy, life is sad. I becomes dark, gray, miserable.

Without joy, death is full of sorrow, unknown, and endings.

Without joy, life is meaningless, pointless, and worthless.

With joy, life is beautiful. It becomes bright, colorful, and vibrant.

With joy, death means contentment, surety, and beginnings.

With joy, life is meaningful, purposeful, and worthwhile.

Joy comes from knowing the Savior.

If you know the Savior, you see the word "Creator" written on the rocks, the leaves, and the life.

If you know the Savior, you marvel and wonder at His works and at His omniscience.

If you know the Savior, you remember His resurrection when death occurs, and the great Plan for which He died.

If you know the Savior, you know why we're here. You know that He can help you make it through any trial, overcome any sin, and find His peace in any confusion.

If you know the Savior, you can find Him and feel His everlasting, true, and perfect joy.

THAT is why I want to share the gospel.

Because God made it possible for all of His children to come unto Him and find peace and joy forever.

All I have to do - and all YOU have to do - is share it.

Sister McKay